Syphilis infection

Dec 13, 2008

Hi, I had a an encounter with a female sex worker. It happenned 11/26. After a while the condom broke, I don't really how long we had unprotected sex , maybe 2-3 minutes when we noticed. We both got really scared. We talked about the incident and she told me not to worry since she gets tested regularly. That did not ease my mind, I went to see my doctor and He thought my risk was minimal but asked me to get tested 6 days later for other STDStds. I also went to a private clinic and did a RNA pool sampling test five days after exposure, no result yet. Long story short, I tested positive for syphilis and according to my doctor the infection is recent because of the kind of test he did, my ratio is 1:1, I contacted the person i had the encounter with and told her about the problem, she got tested and came back positive for syphilis and HIV negative. I started treatment for the infection one week ago. I have tested HIV negative 1 week after. I am going crazy with the idea of being infected with HIV. I know my risk is problably minimum and according to my doctor I would be more at risk if I had had syphilis pryor to the incident. My life has changed for the worst, I am married and I had to claim impotence due to problems at work with my wife so we have not have intercourse since the incident. I am desperate, please help!

Response from Dr. Frascino

Hello,

I agree with the information you received from your doctor.

My only advice, aside form getting HIV tested at the three-month mark, is to level with your wife. It's not only the best way to deal with your guilt; it's also the right thing to do. You should then use latex condoms with your wife until your negative HIV status is confirmed.

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